


Like the Tides

by Xyriath



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Shiro (Voltron), Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2018-08-27
Packaged: 2019-07-03 10:19:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,996
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15816906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xyriath/pseuds/Xyriath
Summary: Keith has always been the rulebreaker, not Shiro. After all, as a prefect and overall a stand-up guy, everyone at Hogwarts looks up to him—including Keith. So when he spots Shiro sneaking out of the castle after dark, his worry urges him to follow.Only, some secrets should stay buried, even between best friends. And it's possible that the truth might just be the thing that pulls them apart.





	Like the Tides

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Stargazing: a Sheith AU Zine! It was absolutely my honor to be involved and help see it to completion.

_ “Quietus. _ ”

Keith gripped his wand for several moments.  No way to tell if that spell worked without testing it—but if it hadn’t, he’d find himself in some deep shit.  Still, it was this or go back defeated, and Keith Kogane absolutely refused to give up.

Especially when Shirogane Takashi was involved.

Holding his breath, he lifted a foot and took one tentative step.  Though he heard the faintest crunch of snow and leaves underneath his boot, the sound was barely audible, muffled by the spell.

Keith exhaled with relief, and he couldn’t hear  _ that _ sound at all.  So much for being useless with Charms.  This impromptu trek through the Forbidden Forest had immediately grown much less risky. Not that he was worried about the Forest itself, really; he knew enough defensive magic to protect himself, and had physical combat skills (which magical creatures rarely expected) to back that up.  And tonight, the full moon’s glow was bright enough to light his way and keep him from stumbling. But being caught out here by a professor would leave Keith at risk of expulsion from Hogwarts. And if Shiro knew that Keith had chosen to sneak out after him, even after he had specifically asked to be left alone, he might be angry.  Or—even worse—disappointed.

He briefly reflected on the fact that maybe he  _ shouldn’t _ be here.  Was it worth the risk?  It wasn’t as if he thought Shiro was up to anything genuinely bad—no, Shiro was far too principled for that—but curiosity as to where Shiro vanished each month had gnawed away at his insides until it eventually consumed him.  Shiro had always laughed it off with a dismissive wave and something vague about needing alone time from everyone (“ _ Not  _ you _ , of course, Keith; I always like having you with me _ ”).  He was the golden boy, after all.  More than that, Shiro helped everyone with patience and kindness, regardless of house: in fact, they had met when Shiro had spotted Keith struggling with a tap dancing charm in his first year.  Everyone wanted Shiro’s time. So Keith could understand why Shiro always refused to tell Keith where he went, and Keith had tried to respect that privacy.

But when he had spotted a familiar, large form slinking off to the Forbidden Forest, he had to take matters into his own hands.  The place was  _ dangerous _ , after all.  Though the professors were vague about what might dwell there, rumors abounded throughout the student body.  Graphorns. Vampires. Acromantulas. The local centaur population wasn’t exactly known to be friendly, either.  What if Shiro got hurt? What if he ran into something that he couldn’t handle, and ended up lying on the forest floor, wand broken, unable to call for help?  Keith respected Shiro’s desire for alone time, yes, but not at risk of his safety!

Admittedly, Keith hadn’t expected to completely lose Shiro within the first five minutes of stepping into the trees, but someone with such distinctive looks couldn’t be  _ that  _ hard to find.  Where were Shiro’s footprints?

He continued to pick his way through the woods, casting his gaze back and forth for any signs of footprints in the snow.  Shiro had to be here  _ somewhere _ —

A howl pierced through the freezing night air, so close that Keith jumped nearly out of his skin. He whirled around, lifting his wand, and a black shadow flitted through the darkness, an ominous shape against the white blanket of snow on the ground.

And, in the filtered moonlight, the gleam of sharp fangs.

“ _ Lumos! _ ” Keith yelped, all thoughts of subterfuge forgotten.

The shadow yipped and staggered backwards, head twisting away at the sudden brilliant light that illuminated the forest.  Keith used the distraction to catch a squinted glimpse of the creature—then staggered backwards in terror.

Mere steps away, a massive black wolf towered in the light, larger than even some horses Keith had seen.

The wolf turned its head back, and Keith met its eyes.  Those weren’t wolf’s eyes; the pupils were smaller. More intelligent.  

_ Human. _

_ short snout small pupils tufted tail— _

In the mere fraction of a second that it took for the realization to flash through Keith’s mind, he yanked his wand back and cried, “ _ Stupefy! _ ”

_ —immune to most magic, except for the most powerful of spells— _

The red spell flew out of Keith’s wand, bounced harmlessly off the creature’s hide, and vanished.  The wolf reacted instantly, letting loose a fierce growl before it leaped at Keith.

Keith had no time to react. Two massive paws, larger than Keith’s head, slammed him into the snow.  His wand flew from numb fingers as his vision filled with fangs. Hot breath that smelled of blood filled his nostrils; sharp jaws clamped around his throat.

_ —seeks out humans on the full moon to kill. _

Of all the last thoughts for Keith to have before being brutally slaughtered, the werewolf section of his Defense Against the Dark Arts course was not what he wanted running through his mind.

But the teeth didn’t bite down.  Though the sharp sensation prickled against the delicate skin over Keith’s windpipe, the wolf hadn’t torn it out.  It hadn’t even broken skin.

Keith exhaled slowly—partially in disbelief, and partially because he thought it might be his last chance to ever do it again.

He and the wolf stayed like that for what felt like hours, nearly immobile except for the hot breath against Keith’s throat and his blessedly still-heaving chest.  Was he going to die? It seemed like it, but then… why wasn’t he dead yet?

And then, excruciatingly slowly, the pressure released from Keith’s throat, the weight lifted from his shoulders, and the werewolf backed up, clumsily but in haste.  Keith shoved himself up and scrambled backwards, casting about frantically for his wand until his fingers closed around the familiar length of pine.

“ _ Lumos, _ ” he gasped again—and this time, he was prepared for what he would see.

The wolf was even larger than Keith could have imagined.  It watched him, shoulders hunched, tail between its legs. Its wide eyes lacked both murder and malice, unlike what like their textbook had warned.

In fact, they seemed… afraid.

As the werewolf emitted a low, anxious whine, Keith took a better look. The majority of its fur was black, but he could now see that it faded to white on its underbelly and the tips of its nose and tail.  A streak of pure white fur slashed across its forehead, over its familiar gray eyes, in a way that reminded Keith of…

Keith’s eyes flicked down to its legs.  Three of them were the same black of its fur.  But the front right—that was a gray color. A silver color.  A silver that shone in the light of Keith’s spell, a gleaming prosthetic that ended above the joint.

Keith had seen the results of a spell like that before.  Once before.

“Shiro?” he managed, voice nearly cracking in shock.

The word did more than any spell would have: with a terrified yip, the werewolf recoiled, rearing back on his hind legs and spinning away from Keith.  A flurry of kicked up snow, and he had bolted. And Keith…

This time, Keith didn’t follow.

—

After two weeks of silence, Shiro figured his secret was safe from the rest of Hogwarts.

Keith hadn't spoken to him since, of course.  Not that Shiro blamed him for it, or was even remotely surprised.  When you attacked a guy, when you nearly  _ tore his throat out _ and only barely managed to stop after recognizing his scent in the nick of time, you couldn't fault him for never wanting to see you again.

And, in truth, the shunning was the last thing Shiro had to worry about.  He had grown too complacent, too  _ arrogant _ in his monthly wanderings.  Galloping through the Forbidden Forest during the full moon, reveling in the instincts and freedom of being a wolf while retaining his own mind, had become almost something to look forward to.  He had relied too much on the Wolfsbane potion, grown careless, and not realized that though it kept him from turning to a mindless monster, it couldn't suppress his wolf's instincts entirely.

When he had seen the red flash, when he had felt it bounce off of him, the wolf in his head had shrieked  _ danger! _  And Shiro had lost control for the first time since coming to Hogwarts.  Shiro had lost control, even when he shouldn't have.

The next time he smelled human while out in the forest, he would  _ remember _ to turn and flee the other way.

He allowed this concern to plague his thoughts, nearly consume him.  Because when he tried to push it away, something else waited for him.  Something far worse, which sat like an agonizing weight on his heart.

Of all the things Shiro would ever lose, why did Keith's friendship have to be one of them?

He should be grateful Keith hadn't told.  And he was, truly. But every night, sitting in the Hufflepuff common room to study, he ached for the company of his best friend.  Ached for the company of the person Shiro had been in love with for years now.

But, he told himself firmly, if time couldn't cure a stupid childhood crush, a revelation like this definitely could.  After all, Keith was much safer this way.

Shiro thrust these thoughts aggressively to the side.  He had more important things to concern himself with: one more week before it all began again.  One more week before he was called away nightly to take the draughts of the potion that would keep him sane.  One more week before he had to hide his sickness, appear to be the perfect prefect and model student everyone else thought he was.

Shiro remembered now that he also had a Quidditch game that week, and he grimaced.  Slytherin would be difficult to beat, especially if Shiro wasn't feeling like his usual self.  So he  _ definitely _ needed to be on his game and stop worrying about Keith.  The decision about their friendship had already been made, and dwelling on it wouldn't—

Someone pounded on his door, and he jumped, parchment scattering to the floor.  He was one of the few students with a room to himself—after all, roommates would notice someone being absent every night of the full moon—and he had been exercising that privilege more often than not in the past couple of weeks.

He pushed himself off the bed, set his arithmancy homework off to the side, and walked over to open the door.  Rax stood there, lifting one hand in a wave.

"Hey.  Your Gryffindor's down in the common room."

Shiro froze, then blinked slowly as he tried to put together what this might mean.  As the entrance to the common room wasn't a secret, and neither was the way to get inside, it wasn't entirely unheard of for members of other houses to make their way there to visit friends.  It wasn't uncommon for members of other houses to make their way there to find  _ Shiro _ , possibly for some help on homework or even (on uncomfortably frequent occasion) attempt to woo him or ask him out to that couple's place in Hogsmeade.

But  _ Shiro's _ Gryffindor?  There was only one person who that could mean, and Shiro couldn't believe...

"Come  _ on, _ Rax," came the annoyed voice from behind Shiro’s visitor, slightly raspy and familiar and sounding like home.  "I've been here a million times. You should know that I'm on the up and up by now!"

"Well, rules say that you need to have explicit approval to visit the dorms of another house's member," came the stiff reply.  "And I wanted to make sure that—"

"Of course he has approval," Shiro interrupted, unexpectedly breathless at the sight of those beautiful purple eyes peeking around Rax's shoulders.  "Let him in—and," he added, catching sight of Rax’s offended expression, "thank you for checking. This is me extending my approval."

Rax let out a satisfied noise and turned back to go downstairs.  Shiro watched after him, then swallowed.

He took a deep breath and turned back to Keith, shoulders hunching slightly.

"I..."

"I'm sorry," Keith blurted.  He stepped forward into the doorway, eyes wide—and instead of fear, which Shiro had been expecting, those dark purple depths held something that resembled nothing more than... desperation.

"For... what?" Shiro replied, unable to conceal his bafflement.  "Keith, if anyone has anything to apologize for—"

Footsteps sounded from across the hall, and they both froze for a moment, Shiro glancing around out of old habit.  No one was there, but he stepped back, holding the door open.

"Let's talk in here," he said quietly, and Keith nodded.

Once the door had been securely locked, Shiro turned back to him, wrapping his arms around himself.  He didn't even know how to start. What did you say to the person you had nearly killed less than a month ago?

But apparently Keith had enough to say for both of them, planting himself right in front of Shiro.

"I shouldn't have followed you," he said earnestly.  The guilt in his expression was subtle, but Shiro knew him well enough by now to be able to pick it out.  "You said you wanted to be alone, and I should have respected that. And then I—I acted without thinking, just like you always say that I shouldn't, and I almost hurt you, and I  _ scared _ you, and it almost got me killed—"

Though Shiro couldn't seem to process everything else Keith was saying, those last words came through plenty clear.  He flinched backwards, lifting one shoulder to put it between himself and Keith.

Keith stepped forward, eyes widening even further.  "I'm sorry! I didn't... I didn't mean to remind you.  But I figured you were furious with me, which is why you haven't talked to me since, and I... I know I fucked up.  But I can't handle..." A faint flush spread across his cheeks, and in a surprising display of uncertainty, he wrapped his own arms around himself in a mirror of Shiro's posture.  "I can't lose you over this. You're the most important... you're the best friend I have."

Oh.   _ Oh. _  Heat flooded Shiro's cheeks as well, and he took a deep breath, trying to keep it from shaking.

"Keith," he said quietly, mind spinning with the words, the puzzle pieces that were now dropping into place.  "You... you haven't lost me or anything. I'm not mad."

Keith looked back up, and the uncertainty in those big eyes left Shiro wanting to stride forward and kiss the fear away.  "You're... not?"

"No!" Shiro shook his head vigorously, then turned away again to run his fingers through his hair.  "I... I thought after I jumped on you, after I almost... I thought that you didn't want anything to do with me _. _  Ever again."

"But that's bullshit!" Keith exclaimed, straightening with a scowl.  "It was  _ obvious _ that you never wanted to hurt me!  I'm the one who attacked you!"

Shiro opened his mouth to argue, but Keith shook his head.  Striding forward, he took Shiro’s arm, then gently pulled him over to the bed.  “Sit.”

Shiro sat.

Keith took a few steps back, then took a breath, clearly steeling himself for something.

“I… I’ve been doing some extra research for Professor Thace’s transfiguration class.  Extra credit. Technically, I shouldn’t be doing it…  _ practically _ , but I… I took some time to really dig into it.  And I finally figured it out.”

Shiro nodded uncertainly.

“I was thinking… well, it’s gotta get lonely, right?  It’s not fair to you. Spending an entire night out there, trapped like that, not being able to come back.  Don’t you think it would be a good thing if you had, you know… some company?”

Hope bloomed in Shiro’s chest, but immediately crashed as he thought through the logistics of the suggestion.  He looked away. “Keith, the other night proved exactly why I can’t have humans around me when I transform. I’m in my right mind more than I would be without the Wolfsbane potion—you learned about that one last year, right?—but if my instincts take over again…  If I  _ bite _ you…”

“I’m not talking about as a human,” Keith declared, and Shiro finally looked back up again.

Instead of saying anything else, Keith closed his eyes.

The next few moments seemed to drag out over ages.  Keith’s nose lengthened, the shape of his head morphing as his spine bent forward.  His ears shifted to the upper part of his head and elongated, and his black hair grew over the rest of his body.

Moments later, an enormous black cat stood in front of Shiro, head tilted up towards him.  Shiro’s heart leaped as he realized that the purple eyes were the same.

“You… you’re an Animagus,” Shiro breathed, reaching out to cradle Keith’s head.

The fur was soft under his fingers, and as he scratched behind Keith’s ears, a pleased rumbling filled the room.  Keith’s eyes drifted shut, and he tilted his head to rub up against Shiro.

Shiro had read about Animagi.  He knew how difficult the spell was, and also what Keith risked by remaining unregistered.  To think that Keith, only in his fourth year, had succeeded in mastering such a complicated spell was astounding.

And he had done it for Shiro.

After several moments (and many, many pets), Keith drew away.  Shiro couldn’t resist a smile as he shifted back into his human form.

“Well?” Keith asked, the hope in his eyes returning.  “What do you think?”

Even if Shiro hadn’t already decided, he wouldn’t be able to say no to that expression in a million years.

“I think,” Shiro said slowly, reaching out to take Keith’s hand and looking up at him with a smile, “that the full moons are about to get a lot less lonely.”


End file.
